News

ROB'S TURNING POINT

Posted on 3 April 2007
- 12:00

Robbie Keane can pinpoint when our fortunes took a recent upturn - and he should know!

Robbie Keane can pinpoint when our fortunes took a recent upturn - and he should know!The in-form striker and captain in Ledley King’s absence was the inspiration behind that turning point - when he smacked home two wonderful volleys in the 4-0 FA Cup win at Fulham.

Since then, we’ve won eight of 10 games in all competitions with only champions Chelsea denying us with a draw and then defeat in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.

We’ve progressed into the quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup and a run of five-successive wins has seen us climb up to sixth in the Premiership.

It’s a far cry from the feeling around the camp following defeat at Sheffield United on February 10. “The turning point was Fulham,” said Robbie after netting the winning goal from the penalty spot against Reading on Sunday.

“We were struggling before then but got a great result there an after that, we haven’t looked back. It’s important you continue to pick up the results at home and we’ve done that as well.

“It was important we got the win against Reading to pull away from them slightly, so we’re delighted with the win and 1-0 didn’t reflect the game, it should have been more and we all know that, luckily enough we got the three points we deserved.”

There is little time to reflect on Sunday’s victory though with the first leg of our UEFA Cup quarter-final in Seville this Thursday followed by a quick dash to Stamford Bridge and Chelsea in the Premiership in a 12.45pm kick-off on Saturday.

“There are a lot of big games coming up,” added Robbie, whose penalty stretched his current goal record to eight goals in his last seven games.

“Sevilla is a massive game and we’re well aware of that. They are a good side and domestically they are doing well, but so are we. We'll go into the game with a lot of confidence and we’re all looking forward to it.

“Saturday at Chelsea will be difficult but we’re lucky enough to have a big squad of players and I’m sure there will be some chopping and changing with two games in 48 hours. If we get a good result in Seville it will all look after itself.”